Falcon taxis on the nose in Melbourne

[stock1991]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I got a taxi on Saturday night, first time in about a year. It was a FGII xr6, and the first Falcon taxi I have ever been in that didn't have diff whine and brake shudder. Felt tight as a drum. I was shocked. Must not have been in service long.

Even had the full colour screen premium sound option.

taxi operators know their stuff

[Junkyard-Dog]

Originally Posted by MrZ

What model grade was it? The top of the line Atara SL has a 10 speaker system with subwoofer, but the other grades only get 6 speakers without a sub.

There is no chance I remember that. I'm pretty sure it was white, had five seats and four tyres though.

The middle back seat really wasn't built for a lady with a big booty btw. That's my real-world review of whatever type of hybrid camry I was in.

[stock1991]

Originally Posted by solarite_guy

Oh hell, I can beat that all to pieces.

After a multi week business trip in mid 90s to Lajolla, CA our airlines called to tell us our flight was moved up by an hour. That gave us less than 20 minutes to get to the San Diego airport from Lajolla. Everybody in the car group looked at me and said "you are driving". The speed odometer was pegged at 120 while the tach kept moving.

During the ride everyone swore they would never drive with me again. We got our boarding passes on time. They bought be beer on the flight back to the D.C. area.

some say the best handling car is a rear wheel drive car, others say it is a front wheel drive car. the best handling car is a HIRE car

[GASWAGON]

The Bore and stroke dimensions of the good old Falcon 250cubic inch, then 4.1 crossflow, and then 4.0 SOHC and DOHC VCT is very well suited to running LPG.

I was in an FG Falcon taxi on my way to new job the other week and one of the first things I asked him was how many K's the Falcon had done?

Indian driver (indian accent).....Oh 750,000k's original engine he said lol......'very good car the Ford Falcon'.

EcoLPi's are even better.......Comp ratio, camshafts and ignition timing are all factory tuned to suit cheap as LPG.........Been seeing quite a few around Melbourne lately which makes sense as the system is so reliable.

Love the way Broadmeadows got around the LPG priming ADR with the door switch.

By the time you put your belt on and put the key in the systems ready to start!

The Barra DOHC VCT 4.0 engine is one awesome, versatile, and reliable engine and i'll drive my BF wagon until the wheels fall off.

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Bobman

However, a lot of E series were scrapped not because there was anything wrong with them, but because of resale and owners simply selling them to wreckers. You will never find Commodores having the average kilometre life of a Falcon on the same motor, ever.

You need to get out more before making that sort of assumption.

15 years ago, there used to be many E-series in wreckers up here with "F*&^%d Head Gasket" scrawled across the screen in paint pen. You could always tell the ones that were cactus, as the wreckers left the engines in them. If the head was any good, it was out & sold within minutes of the car landing in their yard.

Many a P-plater has proven the durability of the 3800 V6 in the same era Commodores too.....

And Falcons are not immune to clear coat peel either - just like headlining failure - same suppliers, same issues. Even the locally assembled Camry has headlining issues at the same age as they develop in local Fords & Holdens.


Seems you're a little too one-eyed to take an objective view of things.


BTW - I expect to get 600,000km+ out of my FG (I'm past 1/3 of the way there) but we also got 485,000 out of a VS V6, without touching the engine, bar a water pump, and accessory drive pulleys. My AU2 company car was falling apart at 170K with oil leaks from the rocker cover, head gasket, and catastrophic transmission issues. It was not from abuse, and even the Ford dealer confirmed it. But do I use that example to say all AUs are crap, and all VSs are great?

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

15 years ago, there used to be many E-series in wreckers up here with "F*&^%d Head Gasket" scrawled across the screen in paint pen. You could always tell the ones that were cactus, as the wreckers left the engines in them. If the head was any good, it was out & sold within minutes of the car landing in their yard.

We're not talking about 15 years ago, we are talking about currently. All head gasket issues have long been resolved and cured with the steel head gasket.

Nowadays you will find E series end up at wreckers for the exact reasons I gave. Unfortunately resale is not strong for the older Falcons, while older Commodores are worth much more.

Many a P-plater has proven the durability of the 3800 V6 in the same era Commodores too.....

Yes, quite true the 3800 V6 can soldier on even if noisy and harsh, but they never make the same kilometres as an I6 in the same conditions. This is simple fact backed up by taxi operators who couldn't get more than 400,000 out of a well-looked after ECOTEC on LPG. They were not a good motor to run on gas.

Seems you're a little too one-eyed to take an objective view of things.

And Falcons are not immune to clear coat peel either - just like headlining failure - same suppliers, same issues. Even the locally assembled Camry has headlining issues at the same age as they develop in local Fords & Holdens.

Absolutely, but I haven't seen dozens of Falcons peeling back to bare brown metal as is often seen on VN-VT Commodore roofs and bonnets. Interestingly, the paint issues improved significantly by VX and this is seen in the examples on the road now.

Not one eyed, just have over a decade of experience within the taxi industry and 16 years in the automotive repair sector to know what works and what doesn't (including Commodores).

BTW - I expect to get 600,000km+ out of my FG (I'm past 1/3 of the way there) but we also got 485,000 out of a VS V6, without touching the engine, bar a water pump, and accessory drive pulleys. My AU2 company car was falling apart at 170K with oil leaks from the rocker cover, head gasket, and catastrophic transmission issues. It was not from abuse, and even the Ford dealer confirmed it. But do I use that example to say all AUs are crap, and all VSs are great?

Without doubt there are good and bad examples, but law of average speaks louder than some isolated examples. The AU was well regarded for reliability by the market, by the taxi industry and by the kilometre range of dozens I have worked on; the common issues with AU are easily repairable (e.g. welch plugs, tensioner oil leaks).

The issues with Commodore engines end up being an engine out repair. Even replacing the thermostat involves removing the transmission on Alloytecs. That said, I know someone with an Alloytec at over 300,000 on the same engine, but highway kms. An isolated example, but a good one.

[Junkyard-Dog]

As much as I prefer Falcons, VS Commodores were pretty reliable. I have seen first-hand an ecotech v6 overheated to the point that the radiator cap exploded, then a new cap and some water were put back in the radiator and it drove 100kms+ home and never had any problems.

It was off the end of the "H" on the temp gauge and had been stuck in traffic for like 15 minutes or longer. Pretty amazing tbh.

I don't know whether a similar vintage Falcon would have survived. Btw, that's what happens when you don't plug the thermo fans back in after switching radiators...

[commodorenutt]

Originally Posted by Bobman

We're not talking about 15 years ago, we are talking about currently. All head gasket issues have long been resolved and cured with the steel head gasket.

Originally Posted by Bobman

Not one eyed, just have over a decade of experience within the taxi industry and 16 years in the automotive repair sector to know what works and what doesn't (including Commodores).

You should have been a statistician.... being so selective with data to shift it how you like.

Just because a steel head gasket "cured" the E-series woes, doesn't change the fact that thousands of them (particularly EA-ED) went for scrap because they weren't worth fixing, and even now I'm seeing the odd EL in yards with the same fatal failure - so it's still happening. But you'll ignore that point by saying "that was 15 years ago" while at the same time proudly sprouting 16 years "experience"

[Bobman]

Originally Posted by Junkyard-Dog

As much as I prefer Falcons, VS Commodores were pretty reliable. I have seen first-hand an ecotech v6 overheated to the point that the radiator cap exploded, then a new cap and some water were put back in the radiator and it drove 100kms+ home and never had any problems.

It was off the end of the "H" on the temp gauge and had been stuck in traffic for like 15 minutes or longer. Pretty amazing tbh.

I reckon one of my Barra engines could beat that. Had it beyond H to the point of running on a couple cylinders numerous times for perhaps 5-25 minutes at a time over the years due to various failing welch plugs and other cooling system leaks.

Took the oil cap off and a lovely amount of smoke came out due to the heat. Bit of water top-up, good as gold to get me home each time. In fact that would have to be the most neglected engine I've ever had the pleasure of owning that wouldn't die. No coolant, no head gasket concern. Feels bad having to scrap it as I couldn't kill it no matter how hard I tried.

---

Now, back to the topic as this is a Ford forum, not a Holden forum.

Saw a 2006 BF MkII Falcon sedan taxi stop outside my place tonight to give way to a neighbour's caravan back-in. Couldn't believe it, as these were taken off the road over 5 years ago and never before had this particular model been silver as a cab before here.

[Junkyard-Dog]

Yeah mate, I love my Barra.

[78xcgxl]

Originally Posted by Bobman

I reckon one of my Barra engines could beat that. Had it beyond H to the point of running on a couple cylinders numerous times for perhaps 5-25 minutes at a time over the years due to various failing welch plugs and other cooling system leaks.

Took the oil cap off and a lovely amount of smoke came out due to the heat. Bit of water top-up, good as gold to get me home each time. In fact that would have to be the most neglected engine I've ever had the pleasure of owning that wouldn't die. No coolant, no head gasket concern. Feels bad having to scrap it as I couldn't kill it no matter how hard I tried.

---

Now, back to the topic as this is a Ford forum, not a Holden forum.

Saw a 2006 BF MkII Falcon sedan taxi stop outside my place tonight to give way to a neighbour's caravan back-in. Couldn't believe it, as these were taken off the road over 5 years ago and never before had this particular model been silver as a cab before here.

image

Thanks to failsafe cooling kicking in!